The story of ‘Eric’ was written with but one single object—the vivid inculcation of inward purity and moral purpose, by the history of a boy who, in spite of the inherent nobility of his disposition, falls into all folly and wickedness, until he has learnt to seek help from above. I am deeply thankful to know—from testimony public and private, anonymous and acknowledged—that this object has, by God’s blessing, been fulfilled.[1]

Eric is a son of a British worker and his wife stationed in India. As was common at the time of the British Raj, Eric is sent to Britain to be educated at a boarding school - in this case Roslyn School, where he encounters the good and bad aspects of the traditional boys' school.

Title page from 1891 edition of the book.

He slowly gets beaten down by being punished erroneously for wrongdoings, getting bullied and such things as drinking, smoking and cheating. The end is tragic for Eric, as he loses everything.

The book is credited with helping to increase the popularity of the first name "Eric" in English-speaking countries — although not with Eric Arthur Blair (the writer and journalist George Orwell) who disliked his given name because of its association with Farrar's book.

In later years, it fell out of favour, in part because of its religious earnestness. For example, in Rudyard Kipling's Stalky & Co., published late in 1899, the protagonist Beetle and his friends frequently made fun of "Eric", e.g.